Empty Chairs at Empty Tables
by MusicAssassin99
Summary: Ponyboy knows his friends are dead and gone. The nightmares keep coming back. His heart is empty. Empty Chairs at Empty Tables from Les Miserables. I own nothing.


Gray skies with a storm of rain coming in. Thunder grew louder with every strike of lightning. Drops were forming into heavy ice rock hail hitting the roof. Fourteen year old Ponyboy Curtis sat near his window sitting in a chair that was at his desk. He gazed into the outdoors through the glass window. Enjoying the sight of the weather. However, something in Ponyboy's mind brakes through his thoughts. A memory. No. A nightmare. Of that fateful night. The death of his beloved Greaser friends. Johnny Cade and Dallas Winston. He missed Johnny the most. Dally was a pretty good friend. But Ponyboy just didn't see what Johnny saw in him. He was right about Dally dying gallantly but he died a criminal. Johnny died gallant as well. But he died with a gold heart with his past life living in fear and being broken. After the events, Johnny had changed. Before he died, Ponyboy saw that the fear had disappeared. The emotions changed into bravery. That is what he liked about Johnny. He was always the nice guy of the gang. Actually, Johnny was the only one that ever understood Ponyboy besides Soda of course. But Johnny and Ponyboy had almost the same thing in common with sunsets and going to movies that they could enjoy without any interruption. Ponyboy missed those times when he spent time with Johnny at the church and even that time in the vacant lot before the murder.

Ponyboy missed both of his friends. Johnny had saved his life twice and he had never gotten to thank him. He never got the chance to say goodbye. It hurt too much to say goodbye. He wish it didn't have to be this way. But he couldn't do anything about it. Sometimes, he thought that it was all his fault that Dallas and Johnny were dead. He wished he wouldn't have run away when Darry hit him. He wished he could have saved Johnny the day he got jumped. He should have been the one who died. Not him. Ponyboy had flunked some of his classes and quit doing what he enjoyed the most. He just stopped living. But Darry was right. You don't stop living just because you lose somebody. How was he suppose to live if he couldn't stop thinking about everything that had happened on that day.

It had been four months since everything that had happened to Ponyboy, Johnny, and Dallas. It was complete chaos. Not to mention heartbreaking. Ponyboy's hair was long and brown again. He was glad not to have blond short hair anymore. He kind of wanted to get Johnny back for it but he didn't want to do anything to his best buddy. Since he was deceased. He remembered Johnny looked really different. His hair was short and grease was washed out of it. It didn't even look like him. He looked like a totally different person. It didn't fit Johnny. It didn't fit Ponyboy either. It didn't matter now. It is done and over with. Nothing he can do to get his friends back.

Ponyboy closed his eyes and started to think back about last night. He had a nightmare about Johnny, the Socs, drowning, burning church. Pretty much everything.

*Ponyboy's Nightmare*

Ponyboy couldn't breathe. He could feel his lungs burning needing oxygen. He felt hands pushing him down further into the fountain. He was pulled back up to find the Socs, minus, Bob and Randy, that were there that night when they were trying to drown him. The skies were blood red with black dead trees surrounding them. The Socs pulled Ponyboy up to his feet. Then they threw Ponyboy back into the fountain. They let go of the collar of his gray jacket. When they had let him go, Ponyboy was falling forever like he had been pushed off of a five story building. The Socs looking down on him as he was falling. Evilishly laughing. Ponyboy thought he was going to die landing on hard concrete. But instead he hit water and splashed into it. Ponyboy was stuck under the water with the strong current pulling him somewhere like a hurricane. He tried desperately to get out of the current. It was no use. Suddenly, the strong wave began to subside. He quickly grabbed a branch under the water and tried to pull himself out. Ponyboy reached the surface and gasped for air. He glanced all around trying to find his way to get on land. He spotted land. He hurriedly swam to the area. He crawled out of the water and collapsed on his back exhausted. He closed his eyes. Ponyboy felt his surroundings heating. He opened his eyes to see flames all around him. He stood up and ran to a fire path which was oddly leading him to somewhere not killing him.

As he ran, he stared up at the blood red sky seeing crows flying above him avoiding the flames and making noise as if it were a sign to turn back. The crows flew upwards away from sight. Ponyboy then focused on the fiery trail. He spotted an exist at the end of the fire trail. He slowed down as he got on top of a hill. Flames behind him. From a far, he could see something beyond the flames. He squinted trying to keep his vision focused on what was there in front of him. The flames began to clear out of Ponyboy's way. His eyes widen. It was the church! It was on fire again. He was going to turn back but the flames blocked to where he came from. Ponyboy had no choice but to run near the church. He ran to the church. He stopped near the entrance of the church were the kids were almost burned alive. But nobody was there. He looked around frantically for another path but it became difficult since the smoke was blurring his vision and the flames were growing.

"Help!" A voice called out painically. Ponyboy turned to the church entrance to find the source of the voice. He got closer to the entrance and looked inside to figure out if he could hear the voice clearly.

"Help!" The voice called again. Ponyboy immediately recognized the voice.

"Johnny?" Ponyboy asked aloud.

"Help!" The male voice screamed louder. Ponyboy's eyes widen in shock and in panic. It was Johnny! He couldn't just stand there and let his friend burn to death again. He had to take action this time.

"I'm coming Johnny!" Ponyboy called out as he pushed himself through the entrance.

As he went in of the search of Johnny, the flames were hotter than ever. Tears of irritation filled his eyes and he was coughing hysterically. He looked around seeing flames everywhere and the beams starting to crash onto the floor. Johnny had to be in here somewhere.

"Johnny!" Ponyboy called out hoping for a response.

"Help!" Johnny responded.

"Johnny!" Ponyboy went closer to where his voice was coming from. Finally, he found him. But he was under a beam that he was struggling to get out on his own.

"Johnny!" Johnny shot his eyes up to Ponyboy. He looked terrified.

"Ponyboy, help me!" Johnny said pleadingly. Dark eyes filled with fear.

Ponyboy walked closer but only to be stop to a halt by beams blocking his way but there was a hole. He could still see Johnny but he was unable to get to him this way.

"Johnny, grab my hand!" Ponyboy said as he outstretched his arm through the hole. Johnny outstretched his arm to reach for Ponyboy's hand.

"C'mon Johnny," Ponyboy said encouraging Johnny as their hands were getting closer for Ponyboy to try to yank him out from under the beam. "Just a little farther."

Ponyboy felt a sharp pain in his thigh and he cried out. He glanced down to find a knife that stabbed him but he tried to shake off the pain. Ponyboy grabbed Johnny's wrist as did Johnny. Ponyboy was trying to pull Johnny out but instead to have the knife removed out of his thigh and stab him in the shoulder. He cried out. He looked behind him as he held Johnny's wrist firmly. A familiar figure appeared gripping the knife that was now in Ponyboy's shoulder. The figure removed the knife out of Ponyboy and grabbed a fist full of his hair and cut under his chin. The hand let go of his hair and its fingers were around his throat as he pulled Ponyboy back. The two boys lost each other's grip and their fingers slipped through each other's wrist causing them to let go.

The fingers still had Ponyboy by the throat. Ponyboy looked back to where Johnny was but now he was unable to see him in sight. Except he knew where he was. The beams above Johnny collapsed on top of him and the flames were eating him alive.

"Johnny!" Ponyboy said with tears in his eyes. Feeling guilty that he failed to save Johnny.

"You bastard!" Ponyboy glared at the figure with teeth bared. The figure was then revealed. Bob Sheldon who laugh evilishly. He held a switchblade in his free hand. But it wasn't just any switchblade. It was Johnny's.

"Bob?" Ponyboy said with shock with his mouth dropped open.

"Yeah it's me," Bob said smirking. " I should have finished you off before your friend killed me. But now that he's dead I will finish where I started.

Bob stabbed Johnny's switchblade into Ponyboy's stomach and made a weak noise of pain.

"Do you wanna know a little secret?" Bob asked in a cruel tone as he put his lips next to Ponyboy's ear and whispered into it. "I'm the one that jumped Johnny and gave him that scar on his face."

Ponyboy's eye widen. He knew it was true. Bob was the one who had beaten Johnny so badly. Shocked but at the same time angry he tried to get the knife out of his stomach and fight Bob off of him. But right then, Bob pulled the blade out of Ponyboy, stabbed him in the lower part of his back and threw him on the hard cold floor. Bob stared down at Ponyboy and laughed evilly as he disappeared into the flames. Ponyboy was on his stomach. He turned his attention toward the falling beams. The beams came down on Ponyboy.

*End of Ponyboy's Nightmare*

Ponyboy's eyes shot open remembering last night he screamed with cold sweat waking Soda up. That nightmare had scared Ponyboy to death. Even when he is awake he can't stop thinking about it. He's afraid to sleep because he has a fear of the nightmare coming back. Ponyboy took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on the storm from outside.

Outside of the bedroom, he heard Darry and Soda conversating about work, financials, and probably about him. Ponyboy turned his head towards the door listening to half of his brother's conversation. Then he heard them talking about Ponyboy himself.

"I'm getting real worried about Ponyboy, Darry. He's not acting like himself," Soda conveyed.

"Soda, he got his grades back up and I know he stopped doing school activities but…" Darry was interrupted.

"I'm not talking about his grades man. I'm talking about that nightmare he had last night," Soda said.

"Did he tell you what the nightmare was about?" Darry asked.

"No, but I can tell the nightmare was about Johnny again. It probably got worse," Soda explained.

Silence filled the room for about a minute until Darry spoke up.

"We probably just need to leave him alone for a little while to let him breath and think. Don't worry Soda, when Ponyboy is ready he'll tell us sooner or later. Just give him time."

Ponyboy turned his attention back to the window. Thunder and lightning had subsided just to leave the sound of the hard pouring rain. Ponyboy had the urge to sing for whatever reason. He heard a song that was similar to his situation and enjoyed singing some songs once in awhile. Like emotional kind of songs. Ponyboy leaned back in his chair.

**There's a grief that can't be spoken.**

**There's a pain goes on and on.**

**Empty chairs at empty tables.**

**Now my friends are dead and gone.**

Ponyboy swallows trying to commence the song.

**Here they talked of revolution.**

**Here it was they lit the flame.**

**Here they sang about tomorrow**

**And tomorrow never came.**

Ponyboy starts to remember Dallas having a plan for him and Johnny to run away after the murder. Johnny making a remark about the blue mustang they saw earlier that night.

**From the table in the corner**

**They could see a world reborn.**

**And they rose with voices ringing.**

**And I can hear them now.**

**The very words that they had sung.**

**Became their last communion. **

Ponyboy's eyes began to fill with tears as he swallowed a lump in his throat.

**On the lonely barricade - at dawn.**

He stood up out of his chair and put his hand on the cold window. Raindrops sliding down.

**Oh my friends, my friends forgive me.**

**That I live and you are gone.**

Ponyboy puts his hand down off the window. He wished that he would have died drowning or being burned in the fire and having a broken back or even getting shot by the police. Any of those deaths he would take so Johnny and Dallas wouldn't have to suffer. From physical and emotional pain. He regret living. He thought the world, his brothers, and the gang, even Johnny and Dallas, would be better off with him out of the picture. With all his childish selfishness. Tears roll down his face.

**There's a grief that can't be spoken.**

**There's a pain goes on and on.**

Ponyboy stands behind his chair and grips both hands on it. Soda walks by the bedroom and hears Ponyboy singing. He puts his ear closer to the door.

**Phantom faces at the window.**

**Phantom shadows on the floor.**

**Empty chairs at empty tables.**

**Where my friends will meet no more.**

Soda listens carefully.

**Oh my friends, my friends**

**Don't ask me**

**What your sacrifice was for.**

Darryl stood by Soda at the door listening to his brother sing with emotion. It sounded like Ponyboy was crying as he sang.

**Empty chairs at empty tables.**

**Where my friends will sing no more.**

More tears continued to roll down his face.

Soda and Darryl opened the door and entered the room with concerned and sad expressions. Ponyboy looked up at his brothers sadly then looking down at the floor. His older brothers stood by Ponyboy side by side. Soda put a hand on his shoulder. Darry patted his back gently. The Curtis brothers stared out into the outside world with the rain continuing to fall.

They wondered about that week of what happened. Wondered about Johnny and Dallas. Wondered why society was against them. The questions may never be answered.

All they could do was protect the ones they had left in the gang that they all loved and cared about.

Like Soda had said, they were all they got left.


End file.
